Improved defensive armor for ships and other batteries



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

RICHARD MONTGOMERY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Spcciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,633, dated February l0, 1863.

.To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, RICHARD MONTGOMERY, of the city, county, and State ot` New York, haveinvented an Improved Iron-Clad Armor for Naval and other Structures; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ot' this specilication, and to the letters of ref- @rence thereon.

The nature of my invention consists ina certain combination of resisting-surfaces and elastic supports for the production of an improved ironclad armor for naval and other structures.

To enable any person skilled in the art of producing such structures to construct and apply the same, I will proceed to give a description thereof, and ot' the principle upon which it is founded.

In the drawings, Figure l represents a sec tion amidship ot' a steamer or other vessel ot' war, with a skeleton view ot' my armor attached thereto, and Fig. 2, a detached section showing' in detail the several parts constituting my invention.

I construct the hull A ot' wood or iron as usual, but prefer to make it of corrugated iron; but, whatever be the material used in forming the hull, instead or' stopping, as usual, at the gunwales, I continue the structure upward and curveitinward from each side, so as to form an arched covering over the entire upper deck, as seen in Fig. l. The necessary openings therein for port-holes, ingress and egress, ventilation, Src., must ofcourse be pro` vided. Upon this arched surface, covering it entirely, and extending down the sides ofthe ship to a proper distance below the surface of the water to insure complete protection to the hull, I apply my improved coat of mail or elastic iron armor.

Fig. 2 shows the several parts ot' my invention in detail. A is a portion of the hull of the vessel; B IS B, three ofthe cylindrical masses of vulcanized rubber that support the plating, &c. These masses of rubber are applied over the entire surface to be covered bythe coat of mail, and at such distances apart as to give a uniform elastic support thereto. The axial measurement or length of these cylinders may vary to suit the views of the naval constructor upon the range of elasticity to be given the armor, either as to the whole or to certain parts thereof. As a general rule, these cylinders will be from nine to eighteen inches in length and from six to nine inches in diameter. It may, however, be found advantageous in certain cases to give them a greater dia-meter than this, and even to make them square, threesided, or of some other form; but this, being amere change of forni, comes within the range of my invention. To secure the cylinders in place, a ilat plate, O, (which may be ot' wood, but I prefer iron,) is placed over their outer end, so as to form a continuous sheathing, and this is brought iirinly down upon them by means ot' screw-bolts and nuts whichpassthroughitandthesides ofthe vessel, as seen at ca.. Upon this substructure is applied one course ot' my corrugated iron D and the iinbricated platingE. The corrugated iron is first secured to the plate O, by riveting or otherwise,and the imbricated plates, connected therewith by means ot' the rods F, which, it will be seen, pass through the sides or' the corrugations and the tongue of the imbricated plates that enter these corrugations, thus firmly connecting all the elements of the armor by fastenin gs entirely secure from external blows or injuries. Sometimes, toincrease the elasticity, it may be found advisable to interpose strips or sheets of vulcanized rubber between the corrugated iron and imbricated plates. I roll the imbricated plates E with a tongue to project into and tit the outer groove ot' the corrugated iron plate D, and with edges having a projectii'ig lip orlap on one side and a recess or notch of corresponding size on the other, the face orexposed surface being smooth and ilat. It may not be necessary to roll each ot' these bars separately, as they are shown in the drawings; but this I think the bi-st form, as it gives great facility in fitting them to each other and adapting them tothe varying form ofthe vessel. Generally I apply these plates and the grooves of the corrugated iron trans versely to the length ofthe vessel, butin certain cases it may be found advantageous to apply them in the direction of this line. This is also a questionot' construction to be determined by the builder of the vessel. In this construction ofarmor for ships ot' war it will be seen that I combine the two most important and essential elements for such strnctures to wit, cohesive resistance and elasticity. By

the combination of the imbricated plates and corrugated iron I cover the surface with a massiveresisting medium equal to a solid mass of the same thickness, While by the peculiar structure of the corrugated iron I save from one-fourth to one-third of the material that would be required by a solid plating, such as is commonly used in defensive armor. But experience has proven that this mere massive resistance alone is not sufficient for defense against the modern improvements in guns and projectiles. No thickness of solid sides which a ship would be capable of floating with, it is now feared, can be considered as absolutely impenetrable to the improved Weapons of modern warfare. It seems useless, therefore, to push the simple element of resistance from cohesive attraction further than it has valready been carried in many instances. If we would do more than has yet been done in the production of defensive armor, and yet remain Within the domain of practical applicability, We must invoke the assistance of some other property of matter and combine it With this massive or cohesiveproperty. Nothing seems more apposite for this purpt se than elasticityone of the most important properties of matter. It is upon a proper combination of these two that 1 construct my improved iron-clad armor. The outer covering being made of separate bars, covered somewhat in the form of a bow, become themselves, as it Were, a series of semi-elliptical springs capable of yielding to the effect of an exterior blow at any part of their extent, and more particularly at the more abruptly curved extremities Which form the sides of the vessel. These rest upon and are firmly secured to a continuous plating of my improved corrugated iron, which in itself combines the greatest amount of resistance and elasticity that can be obtained from an equal amount of material, and these Iare finally sustained upon a series of columns or cylinders of vulcanized rubber, which not only aid in giving elasticity to the outer coverings, but act as so many bumpers,77 to take oft' the shock which the heaviest projectile can give vthe ship.

The principle upon which my invention operates is familiarly but im perfectly exemplified in the cushion of a billiard table. Ordinarily these cushions have an outer covering of cloth which lasts for years, and upon which the ball projected by the arm of the most vigorous player, makes but a momentary impression, not separating or breaking the most tender` fiber in its composition. Remove a certain portion of the elastic support of this cloth, and supply its place with a solid support of iron, marble, or even hard Wood, and a feeble blow from the ball will destroy the entire texture of the cloth at the point of contact. Place my plating, Without its vulcanized rubber or other elastic substance as a support, directly against the solid sides of the ship, Without the possibility of its exhibiting any of its elastic properties, and it becomes like all other mere iron plating, and offers no other resistance to a projectile than isdue to the cohesive attraction of its particles, or, in other words, its capacity to resist a crushing force.

Although I have spoken more particularly of india-rubber or vulcanized rubber for making the columns or cylinders B, I do not intend to coniine myself to these materials, as the like elasticity of support may be given by metallic or other springs.

Having thus fully set forth the nature and mode of constructing my invention of an improvediron-clad armor, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The imbricated plates E and corrugated iron D, in combination withithe columns or cylinders of vulcanized rubber B, substantially as described.

2. Fastening together the imbricated plates E and corrugated iron D by means of the rod F, as set forth, passing through the corrugations of each plate.

3. The combination of the imbricated plat es E with the corrugated iron D, constructed and fastened substantially as set forth.

RICHARD MONTGOMERY.

Witnesses:

GILBERT B. ToWLEs, C. T. SMITH. 

